Psychology Program Presents

Nothing Concentrates the Mind: Thoughts of Death Improve Recall

Death awareness poses an unusual psychological predicament for people, leading to an array of reactions generally aimed at reducing existential anxiety. However, it is also possible that humans' ability to conceptualize their own mortality has some utility. For one thing, thinking about death probably helps us avoid it. Another potential consequence of death-related musings might be a deep cognitive set that facilitates information processing. If so, then death thoughts should lead to, among other things, better retention of information subsequently encoded. I will present several experiments demonstrating memory improvements induced by "mortality salience" and exploring the mechanisms of the effect. 

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For more information, call 845-758-7223, or e-mail [email protected].

Time: 4:45 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: Preston Theater

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